Page 34 of Tick Tock, Boom!

"Your father’s gonna kill me," he muttered, half a groan, half a laugh.

"Maybe," I whispered, smiling softly. "But right now… let’s not think about your fate."

His arm tightened around me, his lips pressing to my forehead.

"You’re trouble, kitten," he said, his voice softer now, almost tender. "But fuck it if you think I’m gonna walk away now."

I shifted in his arms, my body still trembling from the aftershocks of everything I’d just done with a man who was nearly twice my age.

"What about the club?" He asked softly. “And Amethyst?”

I traced lazy circles on his chest. " What about it? I’m not going back there, Jose. And Amethyst, she was just an act. Someone whom I thought was my freedom.”

“So what now?”

“I don’t know, but I think one rebellious act at a time, against my father, is enough."

His chest rose sharply beneath my hand, and then he let out a deep growl, his fingers tightening around my waist. "I knew it," he hissed, turning toward me, his mouth brushing over my lips. "You’re just trying to piss him off."

"No," I breathed, my lips barely moving beneath the weight of his stare. "It’s not about that. Not really. I’m stuck here because of him. I’ve been stuck my whole life. You don’t know what it’s like, Jose… to live in the shadow of a man like him, to watch the way the men look at me, like I’m either a trophy or an obligation. I never asked to be a part of this life."

His eyes darkened, his jaw flexing as his hand slid down, fingers teasing between my thighs again, slow strokes that made me shiver beneath him. "You think I don’t see it? You think I don’t fucking hate the idea of you being here, surrounded by these fuckers? You don’t belong here, kitten. You deserve better than this."

"Then why are you here?" I asked, my voice catching in my throat. "Why stay?"

He leaned in close, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. "Because your father’s my brother. Because loyalty runs deeper than blood around here. And because if I walk away… I’d never forgive myself for leaving you alone. Let alone, leaving Bulldog alone."

I shivered, my heart racing again for a different reason.

"Jose…"my voice cracked as his fingers traced my sensitive clit.

"Horny much, kitten?" he teased, his lips curving into that dangerous smirk I’d already grown addicted to. His hand slid lower, fingers sliding into my heated core, making me mewl beneath him, my body betraying me all over again.

He crawled over me, pressing me down into the mattress, his mouth crashing onto mine, devouring me until I was breathless, desperate, aching. His teeth nipped at my lips, his tongue sliding deep, tasting every gasp, every moan.

"I fucking knew it," he growled against my lips before kissing me harder, his palm pressing down between my legs again, fingers circling my clit until my hips bucked up into him. "You’re trouble, kitten. And I’m fucked because I can’t stay away from you."

"Then don’t," I whispered against his mouth.

His lips traced down my neck, sucking hard at the tender skin there, marking me all over again. And when his mouth moved lower, trailing hot kisses down my chest, my body arched for him, giving in, giving him everything he demanded without even asking.

Slowly, he broke me apart again, piece by piece. And even as my heart raced with the fear of what would come next, none of it could keep me from wanting him more.

Because the way Tick Tock touched me, the way he looked at me, like I was the only thing that could make him forget his own darkness…

It was already too late.

TICK TOCK

Each day dragged by like a goddamn eternity, every hour feeling longer than the last, and still, there was no word from Barrel. Not a call. Not a whisper. Just silence where his presence should have been.

I paced the length of my room, my cut tossed over the back of the chair, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides, every muscle in my body strung tight. The air in the clubhouse was getting heavier, thicker with bullshit I could smell coming a mile off. Tensions were rising between the members. There were whispers, side-eyes, too many late-night meetings that didn’t feel right. And I knew it wasn’t just my paranoia talking.

It was Rancid.

That piece of shit, cocky son of a bitch wasn’t just a problem. He was a goddamn cancer eating his way through our club. Little by little, he’d gathered the weak-minded, the restless, the ones too blind to see the knife he’d already sharpened behind their backs. Acting like the patch was his birthright, like the seat at the head of the table was already warm for him. He was fucking with the wrong member.

Recently he’d been circling Natalia like a goddamn vulture, getting bolder every time he caught her walking by. His eyes lingered too long. His smile curled too wide. And me? I was two seconds from giving him the bullet he’d been begging for.

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